Code Geass: Zechstein of the Intrigue R1
by GJO1088
Summary: After getting stabbed, I never expected to be reborn in the world of Code Geass as a member of the Britannian royal family. In a story filled with deception, death, mecha, and supernatural powers, I, Zechstein el Britannia, shall rise to the top and I refuse to stand by idly as the world is plunged into chaos. I won't let the Emperor or the Black Prince have their way. (OC x Harem)
1. I am now Zechstein el Britannia

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or anything from other series, just the OC's for my story.**

 **Instead of updating my other stories, I have gone off track and decided to write a new story and just when I was making good progress on my existing stories. I do not own Code Geass just the OC's. This story is inspired by "Code Geass R1: Chaos and Change" by Red Prince of Ruin, as a result similarities, especially the ideas I really like from Chaos and Change, will be inevitable but I will make sure to make it my own unique story. I'm quite ambitious about this story as my plan is to incorporate as many concepts and characters as I can from other Code Geass media such as the novels (the parts that doesn't contradict canon anyway (unless I hate canon events) as the novels has its discrepancies but I'm one of those people who considers materials that doesn't contradict canon to be canon as long as I like it), manga series, side stories and games.**

"There comes a point when a dream becomes reality and reality becomes a dream."

-Frances Farmer

Dying is far from peaceful, in fact it's a pain in the ass, especially if you die young and the cause of your death is a thug sticking a knife into your gut.

When I became conscious, everything was dark, very dark, was this heaven? Hell? I knew I was in some kind of afterlife at least, but the idea of spending an eternity in an endless void was not a very appealing thought. I tried to move my body but to no avail as I couldn't even feel anything, I tried talking, yelling, screaming, make any sort of noise but no sound came out. I then started to panic.

Was I really going be stuck in literally the middle of nowhere forever!? What do hell did I do to deserve this!? I knew I wasn't the most caring, compassionate individual but isn't this too much!? If this is where we all end up after dying I would prefer it if souls and the afterlife didn't exist!

As I continued to despair for a while, I suddenly see a light. Yes a light! I moved towards the light or more accurately it was as if some mysterious force was pushing me towards the light but I didn't care as I was getting out of here. It was a slow process but I was getting closer and closer and when I finally reached the light, a bright flash engulfed me.

Next thing I knew I felt giant hands holding me up and heard people talking but I couldn't hear well enough to make out what they were saying. I tried to open my eyes but couldn't as the light was too blinding, I try to move my body but my muscles felt so weak, I then try to speak but only the sound of heavy breathing came out and finally I try to scream but only a high pitched shriek came out.

Seeing as I was completely helpless I did the one thing that I or anyone could have done in this situation. I panicked, cried, screamed and wailed.

 _12 years Later,_ _ **September**_ ** _2008 a.t.b._**

 _"_ Would you like more tea, Zechs?" a little pink haired girl asked as she gently lifted a plastic teapot with a rose decoration.

I nodded and smiled "Yes please. May I have some madeleines Euphie?"

Euphie giggled, "Of course but make sure to leave some for Nunnally and Lelouch." she said as she poured some iced tea into my teacup, Euphie wasn't allowed to handle hot tea yet by Cornelia and their mother for her safety.

I was currently having a tea party with Euphemia li Britannia in her room who happened to be my younger half-sister. Yes I repeat my younger half-sister is Euphemia li Britannia, a situation I still had trouble believing even after all these years, it was all too surreal to me.

I was reborn into the Code Geass world as Zechstein el Britannia, the 4th prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and the younger brother of Schneizel el Britannia, the 2nd prince and future prime minister of Britannia. A world where racism, betrayal, corruption and violence is practically everywhere except for maybe Australia but as absolutely no hint of Australia's internal situation and government is ever given, who can say?

I was currently a 12 year old prince who was tall for his age and like Schneizel I had short blonde hair and violet eyes and quite handsome to boot. No, I am not being narcissistic, as a plain looking person from a previous life, I can objectively identify if someone is handsome or not, including my current self. I looked like a young Zechs Merquise from the time he was a cadet at Lake Victoria base studying under Treize Khushrenada in the Frozen teardrop novel. Hmmmm, I have the name Zechstein, I'm called Zechs and I look like Zechs...looks like some higher power of this world has a sense of humor, all right. While the world I lived in is mostly the same as depicted in the anime there are a few major differences.

My presence aside, the main difference between the anime and the life I currently live in right now was the art. I was actually seeing everything as though it was actually an anime although the people here did not look like the anorexic stick figures drawn up by CLAMP, not that I minded as that was what I disliked about Code Geass the most. That along with Suzaku's changing the system from within nonsense, his self righteous attitude, the stupidity and gullibility of the Black Knights in R2 and many more but that's beside the point. The sheer aesthetic beauty and detail of the scenery compared to the anime was nothing short of astounding, the anime did not do Pendragon's breathtaking view any justice in the slightest. If it wasn't for the fact that Pendragon and every Britannian settlement was built on the profits made from the exploitation and blood of non-Britannians and more than a few innocent Britannians, I would have completely fallen in love with the beautiful estates belonging to major nobles houses including the palace my mother, older brother and myself lived in.

My mother was Mathilde el Britannia, a beautiful, blonde and tall woman. Apparently beauty, blonde hair and height runs in my mother's side of the family. She was a warm, caring woman who wanted the best for her children, a stark contrast to the emperor who can't be bothered to show even a little concern for his children even when their lives were in danger and actually died. She was one of the few imperial consorts who didn't scorn the vi Britannia family and actually seemed happy whenever I spent time with them or maybe she's just happy that I'm actually interacting with people instead of studying and training most of the time.

My relationship with Schneizel was a complex one, on the one hand he was what anyone would call an ideal older brother: he genuinely seemed to be interested in how I was doing, what I was doing, gave me helpful advice and patiently and clearly answered whatever questions I had but on the other hand this could be the same sociopath who had no qualms about kicking Lelouch while he was down, nuking Pendragon and leaving Nunnally to die while he escaped so I took his attitude with a grain of salt. I was always cautious whenever I was around him and careful not to be drawn to his charisma like many others as even when he was young he was able to charm almost anyone, including me when I was younger. It would just start as a simple conversation but before I knew it Schneizel subtly gained complete control of the conversation and by the time I realized he got the best of me the conversation was already over. I wanted to kick myself every time that happened and I became more resolved not to be swayed by his silver tongue in the future.

My father the emperor ugh, calling someone like him my father leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, was a nonexistent and frankly, meaningless existence in my life, the only time I ever see him was in court or when he was making some grand speech about how amorality was Britannia's greatest strength and key to progress which ended with an all hail Britannia. Not that I cared about my relationship or lack thereof with the emperor, I knew from the beginning that he wouldn't give me the time or day to notice me and I had no interest in gaining his favor or acknowledgement. I had no desire to impress the old bastard who subtly encourages his children to war with and kill one another, nope I will live for myself and my own happiness. I had better things to do with my time than waste my life for him and the creepy blonde midget.

As a prince of Britannia I had a busy schedule of lessons involving everything from school subjects to learning proper etiquette. I started my private tutoring earlier than most blue blood children after my mother caught me reading textbooks. I amazed her by demonstrating a good understanding of the contents, as a result she arranged for my private schooling as soon as possible. I excelled in all my subjects mostly because as a former college student it was just a review of what I already studied along with spending most of my time studying on my own. History and especially etiquette however proved to be tricky: history because of the facts I learned in my previous world and Britannia's fondness for historical revisionism, my policy regarding Britannian history or more accurately, propaganda was to treat it as fiction; etiquette was for a lack of better term a royal pain in the ass, I mean there were so many types of utensils to use for each type of food and there was a specific way for royals to act even for the most mundane actions everything from walking to the proper method of getting out of a car.

However, children can soak up information like a sponge and if you combine that with the patience, concentration and mind of an adult I was able to perform the role of the dignified graceful prince quite well and as more time passed it was slowly becoming second nature to me. Inevitably, I was praised as a genius and a prodigy by my tutors and by the time I was 8 there was nothing left for my tutors to teach me which left me with a lot of free time and so I continued with my independent studies and put myself through a rigorous training regime of martial arts, marksmanship and other physical exercises.

My seemingly prodigious talent at a young age was a source of pride for my mother and Schneizel, my family couldn't stop saying good things about me which made me feel more than a little awkward, embarrassed even. I wasn't used to receiving such praise from others and it also made me rather worried for my future because if word of my capabilities spread, wouldn't such a thing inspire jealousy amongst my half siblings, their mothers and their allies? Enough to plot an "accident" in the future? If you take into account the history of the Britannian royal family lying and murdering each other along with the existence and power of the geass, the geass directorate, the OSI, and the fact I could sworn that I caught a glimpse of a certain woman with light green hair, it wasn't a matter of being paranoid, it was a question of being paranoid _enough_.

So far it didn't seem like any of my extended family or their posse was plotting an "accident", "suicide", "incident" or "illness", which did not do anything to reduce my paranoia. Betrayal often came from those who acted the friendliest and the fact that I had little to nothing in common with the majority of my large family and nobles caused me to create an outer wall, a shell to protect myself from any potential scoundrels. I treated strangers, both commoners and nobles, with polite professionalism, took care not to form any personal attachments, and never went out of my way to get to know others except for a few family members.

Aside from my immediate family, I got to meet, interact and learn more about my half siblings, such as the li Britannia sisters who considered me to be their unofficial middle brother.

Cornelia was a strict older sister whose affection toward blood relatives ran deep. Her affection for Euphemia was over the top, but she loved even her half-siblings as well; an attitude that was in the minority amongst royalty. She acted as an older sister whenever Schneizel was away on business. She wanted me to be the best I can be and let me know if I was slacking or slipping in any way. We would play tabletop war-games together in which she had more victories due to her time in the military academy and her experience in leadership as the head of security at Aries Villa. Unfortunately she lacked a sense of humor as she gave me a heated glare when I called her Nellie one time.

Euphemia was every bit as adorable and cute as I expected her to be when she was a small child. I mean she was a girl so sweet that I felt like I would get cavities and diabetes just by being near her. She looked up to me and would frequently invite me to her tea parties, or rather, force me to attend her tea parties. I wanted to refuse but then she would pout and use the sad puppy dog eyes, oh god those wide puppy dog eyes, if it looked like I was going to refuse and if I tried to avoid eye contact and remain silent she would make sobbing sounds and start to get all teary-eyed. Everyone knew that if you made Euphemia cry then Cornelia would at the very least make you cry and not only that, their mother would also make your life difficult. So here I was in Euphemia's room having a tea party for the nth time with a little girl whom I swear at times has a hidden, cunning devious side to her.

While I wanted to train and plan for the future, the iced tea and the assortment of confections prepared for the tea party were delicious and Euphie was cavity inducingly sweet and adorable as ever. I wondered if my interactions with Euphemia or any of my siblings for that matter, would result in the butterfly effect? Which would be disastrous for me since my knowledge of the future is my biggest asset.

I was suddenly interrupted from my thoughts when I heard the sound of the door knocking. Euphie got up from her chair to answer the door and when she opened the door-

"Euphie! We're here!"

I heard the adorable voice of a certain little girl. I turned to the source of the sound and the opened door revealed Nunnally vi Britannia and the prodigal son himself, the main protagonist, the future symbol of anti-Britannia rebellion and one of, if not the most, well-known siscon in anime of all time and unlike Euphemia or Nunnally who had no air of arrogance, here was an 8 year old Lelouch vi Britannia in all his egotistical glory.

"Nunnally, Lelouch I'm so glad you two came. Come in, Zechs is already here."

"Zechs?" Both Nunnally and Lelouch repeated with surprised faces. Euphemia gestured towards me.

I waved at the vi Britannia siblings.

Nunnally perked up.

"Zechs!" Nunnally exclaimed, as she ran towards me and gave me a hug.

Nunnally at this point in time still had the functions of her leg and her large wide eyes were sparkling with joy and exuberance. She was a delightful bundle of energy who just couldn't sit still, at least whenever she wasn't around the typical haughty, arrogant, empathy-deficient nobles, such as the majority of the imperial consorts and their posse who held commoners and non-Britannians in contempt for existing. She was a pure innocent child kind and empathetic to all those around her, a complete opposite to Carine who happens to be a spoiled selfish brat who will only become worse as she grows older.

Which made it all the more sadder and harder for me to know as I knew she would lose a lot, all because the emperor and Marianne wanted to preserve their cover story and cared more about completing the Ragnarok Connection than the well-being of their children. Ironically this made all the insults and disparaging remarks by the other Imperial consorts and nobles towards Marianne well-deserved all along, albeit for the wrong reasons as the main source of the pejoratives was her commoner heritage and to a lesser extent her occupation as a Knightmare pilot. Whenever I met her or she was brought up in a conversation I was forced to pretend that I admired and respected her as I didn't want to be hated by the vi Britannia siblings or anyone who looked up to her, that and I didn't want to be compared to those haughty parasitic nobles.

Sigh.. but like Euphemia, Nunnally also loved having tea parties and playing house along with constantly bugging me to take part in it and using the puppy dog eyes technique. Just one of them was adorable but whenever they were together the cuteness and adorableness became algebraically squared, of course that meant that the impact of the dreaded puppy dog eyes was also magnified; when both girls pleadingly stared at me, Cornelia and Lelouch, it was an hyper lethal combo that was unbeatable by normal means. I can never say no to them whereas I'm gradually improving on not being swayed by Schneizel's charm.

Why is it that little girls love tea parties, dress up and playing house? Most of all, why do my sisters keep insisting on making me join them?

"Look Lelouch! It's Zechs!" Nunnally said excitedly.

Unlike Nunnally, Lelouch didn't share his sister's exitement and looked rather uneasy at Nunnally's display of affection towards me.

"Nunnally you shouldn't run off so suddenly like that." admonished Lelouch.

Nunnally paid little heed to Lelouch's complaint and continued to hug me.

"Nunnally, It's wonderful to see you, How have you been?" I said, hugging her back and stroking her hair.

"Good!" Nunnally beamed.

"That's good to hear" I looked past Nunnally to see Lelouch with a troubled expression "And how have you been Lulu?"

Lelouch's expression turned to that of irritation. "Don't call me that!" The raven haired prince shouted.

"Why not?" I inquired, genuinely curious as to why he didn't like me calling him Lulu. He didn't have any problem letting Shirley or Marianne call him by that nickname.

"It sounds like a girl's name!" Oh if you only knew how good you look or rather will look in a dress...Luluko.

"But you let Lady Marianne call you 'Lulu'?" I smirked triumphantly knowing that this would definitely elicit an interesting response from Lelouch.

Lelouch's reaction did not disappoint as my words had the desired effect as his smooth pale skin turned tomato red in seconds and his expression was that of embarrassment.

"Tha-that's be-because!" he stammered while desperately trying to come up with an excuse. In addition to being a siscon, Lelouch at this point and time is quite the momma's boy.

Nunnally, Euphie and I just stared at Lelouch and did not say anything at first-after a few seconds all three of us began laughing together.

"Aww, your stuttering and your face is all red Lulu. Right now you're at the peak of your adorableness~."

"He's right, you really do look absolutely adorable right now...Lulu" Euphemia giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Me too! I also think Lulu is adorable!" Nunnally replied with enthusiasm.

"WHA?! Nunnally! Euphie!" Lelouch protested indignantly.

The two girls and I continued to laugh at Lelouch's expense while I felt Lelouch's glare drill a hole into me. Perhaps he was actually hoping that his glare had the ability to cause me harm judging by the intensity of his glare combined with his still somewhat flushed face. Too bad for him, it would be another 9 years before he gained the power to do harm with his eyes.

After we had enough laughs the four of us continued with the tea party. We, or rather, Euphemia and Nunnally passed the time by talking about what they've been doing during the time the two haven't seen each other while one little boy was quietly sulking in his seat. Since I felt bored just sipping tea and eating sweets, I decided to make a conversation with him.

"Cheer up Lelouch, it was all done in good fun, you shouldn't sulk over it"

Seriously you really shouldn't considering you'll go through much worse in the future.

"...I'm not sulking." Lelouch grumbled rather unconvincingly and turned his head away from me.

I can only sigh at my younger brother's bad lie. He's such a sensitive little boy and so I took it upon myself to cheer him up.

"Avoiding me are you?" I sigh dramatically "And here I was thinking about telling you more about Schneizel, or rather his strategic preferences and skill sets for you to use as a reference for any future chess games but since you don't want to talk to me it seems that I can't share it with you. Too bad." I said shaking my head and placing fingers on my forehead.

Lelouch paused, and then he slowly turned his head and looked like he was about to take my offer before suddenly pausing narrowing his eyes.

"You don't even like chess." Lelouch bitterly said.

Oh for-! Not this again. It seems that the raven haired brat...errr, I mean, prince still held a grudge of sorts against me ever since our first chess match. It all started when Lelouch challenged me to a game of chess in order to add me to his list of victories but I rebuffed him. While I knew the basics, I never really enjoyed chess and since Schneizel and Lelouch are amongst the best chess players in the world, I saw no point in trying to get to their level. However my refusal did not deter Lelouch from constantly badgering me. At first I sought to distract him by making fun of his nonexistent athleticism and by calling him Lulu, which Marianne overheard, found it delightful and also refer to him as Lulu. Unfortunately despite making him angry, he just simply pestered me even more and practically stalked me whenever I happened to be close by, so I ended up agreeing to a match.

At first I was just going to randomly move my pieces without any planning or foresight in order to lose the game as fast as possible and continue on with my business but then I remembered the first episode where Lelouch started a game by moving his king first. My curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to play by staying away from his king just to see what happens. Surprisingly I lasted much longer than most people even though I had little experience in playing chess but being the chess master he was, Lelouch managed to reverse the situation and had me cornered. In that situation I did the only thing I could have done.

I knocked over my white king and forfeited.

To say Lelouch was shocked was an understatement. After snapping out of his shock and confirming that my action was not an illusion, he went absolutely livid. He went on to claim that I couldn't do that despite the fact that there was no rules against forfeiting and demanded I play the game to the very end but I refused, which angered him. The fact that I referred to chess as 'just a game' that was nothing like real warfare and Cornelia, who happened to watching the chess match, agreeing with me hadn't done anything to lessen his anger.

"I don't. How you, Schneizel, and Clovis can actually feel any sort of enjoyment in a game like chess is something I will never understand nor do I want to understand. Like I said before, chess is just a game, a boring one at that." I responded flatly.

Lelouch's eyes twitched and his body trembled. It looked like he was ready to explode.

"Chess is not a game! And it is not boring!" Lelouch yelled out, causing Euphemia and Nunnally to stop talking with surprised expressions and look in our direction to see what the commotion was about.

Lelouch, being too engrossed in our conversation did not notice.

"Chess is the ultimate representation of higher thinking in strategy and tactics, a way of life that can be applied to everything! It-"

Oh no, Lelouch is in his chess lecture mode, I'll have to apologize and make it up to Euphemia and Nunnally later for accidentally unleashing this boredom.

By the time Lelouch finished nagging me about the importance of chess in our lives, it was almost mid-afternoon and time to go home. After saying goodbye to my siblings, I left Aries Villa and headed for home, in a limousine of course.

Thinking about the tea party, I couldn't help but feel that it was times like these that almost made me forget that I lived in an awful world...

It was a good thing that we didn't meet often, because as the day of Marianne's assassination grew closer, I couldn't bear to look either Nunnally or Lelouch in the eye.

 **-Don't forget to rate and review. Feedback is important**

 **-Does anyone have any info about the maelstrom of libra SNS game? Like a more detailed description of the game's story and bio of the characters. I want to add characters from that game if possible like Laila la Britannia, Clovis' younger sister.**

 **-Also does anyone know where I can find all of Sayoko's diary entries. It's hilarious!**

 **-Don't expect regular updates.**


	2. Meeting and befriending people

"Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success."

\- Paul J. Meyer

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or anything from other series, just the OC's for my story.**

 **Finally, at last, I have finished this chapter! This is the second longest chapter I have ever written so far.**

 **pyrovortex: Chess being mathematically solvable, hmmm... I have to think of a way to incorporate that into the story probably as a way to taunt Lelouch at some point in the story. Significant divergences will probably happen somewhere around third to halfway of R1 at the latest.**

 **Raidentensho: Yes, it will have 3rd person views. There is a good reason why landspinners are the primary method of locomotion, as noted in tvtropes the main argument against building a military mecha in real life is the vulnerability of the legs but in Code Geass, land spinners makes it almost impossible to accurately target the legs although I will write scenes where frames actually use their legs. Yes mobile suits from Gundam series will get the knightmare makeover. As for the Knights of the rounds, you will have to wait and see.**

 **Grimraven.V: Because of Zechstein's looks, status, success, charm, and personality he will be popular with woman and he will have a complicated love life but if you want a story with no harem I plan on writing a gundam seed fanfic in the future if you're interested, in fact, my protagonist for the fanfic won't even show any sort of interest in romance like Lloyd.**

 **Ben56: Sorry but Cornelia, Kallen, and Viletta Nu won't be part of the harem and I'm not really interested in writing those series. I do appreciate your reviews and support though, thanks!**

 _ **Early June 2009 a.t.b**_

The day of Marianne's assassination is getting closer. While an exact date was never revealed but taking into account the first picture drama episode and information in the Stage 0 light novel which admittedly is of dubious canonicity, puts Marianne's death and Nunnally losing the function of her legs somewhere around summer. To prepare for the events that happen as a result of that, I've been making plans and adjustments for the future whenever possible ever since I first learned that I was in the world of Code Geass.

As I could no longer just look up information on Code Geass in the internet, the danger of forgetting important information increased each passing day. I tried to recall everything I could about Code Geass and wrote it down lest I forget anything. Of course I didn't dare write anything in clear plain English or any foreign languages I knew lest somebody stumbled upon it. Instead I jotted down information in a way nobody but myself could ever understand. I wrote down relevant information from the anime, sound dramas, picture dramas, manga, light novels, games, code geass wiki, tvtropes, information from forums, and even fanfictions as a reference for possible scenarios and formulated my strategies based on those information.

However, I had to take great care not to be too reliant on my knowledge of the future, as my very existence in this world is the biggest indicator that there is no guarantee that the future will be the same as the one depicted in the anime. In fact, it would be extremely naive of me to have such expectations, however, it would be very nice if the beginning of R1 followed the events of the anime at least and then work as the guiding hand behind the scenes to make sure events more or less stay on course, if not...well at least I can make use of other information I know and I could always just destroy a thought elevator or two if necessary and cut off V.V.'s head, dismember his limbs, have the head and limbs locked up in separate safes and drop it down in the Mariana trench for good measure.

A brutal and morbid method but since he's a code bearer and therefore immortal such measures are most likely necessary. Besides, it's not like he doesn't deserve it.

Plotting the downfall of assholes never failed to make me inwardly or physically smirk. Let them remain blissfully unaware of their impending failure and doom until it's too late. Heh, I wonder what sort of face they will make when everything goes to hell for them? One thing is for certain, it's going to be absolutely priceless.

In order to make that scenario a reality, I stepped up my training and studies. I also needed to establish a solid power base before being at the center of the events that would determine the fate of humanity and to clash with future enemies. To fulfill that purpose, joining the military was the best course of action.

I first sought Cornelia 3 months ago to teach and train me in military subjects but she told me she was too busy due to her duties as the head of Marianne's royal guard, instead, she directed me to the recently promoted Colonel Andreas Darlton.

The towering scarred Colonel was in the process of creating a brand new training program for future knights and he needed someone to test it out on to further fine-tune his training exercises and I happened to conveniently show up.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I would get the training I wanted and needed and Darlton had the opportunity to test out his training program and make adjustments to his exercises based on my results for further improvement. I was put through countless drills, exercises, and simulations complemented by theoretical studies. Sadly, it will be some time before I would get to pilot an actual Knightmare as all existing Knightmares at this point in time are prototypes impractical for battlefield deployment with only test pilots such as Marianne being allowed to operate the machines. There was also a special training program for Knightmares of which Cornelia and Darlton were participants, in fact his ties to the program and rank is the reason why he was able to have a knightmare simulator for my training.

From the time I spent training under Darlton I became close to the Colonel, he was one of the few people who I knew for certain was trustworthy; someone who possessed no ulterior motives, which was a breath of fresh air for me considering the nest of vipers that is the Britannian court.

I first met Darlton several years ago back when he had the rank of Major, he was also a knight on guard at the palace inhabited by Cornelia's and Euphemia's mother during that time. From his time there, he came to know the li Britannia sisters well and both of them gravitated toward Darlton as a father figure, which was unsurprising considering the sort of asshole the Emperor was; unless his children could be used for some purpose he wouldn't even acknowledge their existence.

My relationship with my mother, however, couldn't be any more different. Unlike the Emperor, she went out of her way to interact and spend time with her children and seemed to genuinely enjoy both of her son's company and in return we too enjoyed her company. In contrast to the other Imperial consorts I have never heard her badmouth Marianne, Lelouch, and Nunnally or any commoners and foreigners for that matter. However, as with Schneizel, I was cautious towards her as there was always a possibility she was masking a cold, ruthless, calculating and manipulative personality under a kind, warm, charming, and motherly facade just like Marianne. I _really_ hoped that wasn't the case but if it was...that would _really_ suck, to say the least. However if she was sincere, then I am a bad son for suspecting her, but still, I couldn't let my guard down considering what Schneizel and Marianne are like along with other fictional examples of people good at acting.

Aside from what her personality was like, my mother unfortunately liked to attend parties and social functions like many other members of the ruling Britannian upper class, with myself in tow. Over the years, I accompanied mother to various locations around the homeland where we would become the center of attention. I learned to accept the fact that, as a prince, I will almost inevitably attract attention whether I wanted it or not, while it was nice getting the prince treatment but after a while it felt forced and superficial.

I especially came to dislike parties and any social gatherings involving socialites, nobility, and most of the royal family, especially if I was the center of attention. It was mentally tiring to politely greet large numbers of spineless, sycophantic parasites hoping to curry favor with a prince and parties, galas and other social gatherings where the guests would spend time by sharing vapid gossip, brag about some achievement of dubious validity to impress peers and raise their standing, look for prospective marriage partners, talk about topics such as politics, court intrigue, the latest fashion, trends, and other dull topics only served as a reminder to me how foolish, ignorant, wasteful, shallow and untrustworthy the Britannia nobility were as a whole; unless the siblings I liked happened to be present just about the only enjoyable aspect of these events was the food and drinks.

I am currently sitting at a VIP table eating my food, a blood relative of my mother is celebrating his birthday and my mother, Schneizel and I were invited. The party itself was narcissistically extravagant and after I finished eating I found myself bored and wished nothing more than to go home but alas, knowing my mother she would become engrossed in conversation with blood relatives and the other guests. I got up from my table and decided to explore the manor to pass the time; with the majority of the attention on the birthday man, Schneizel, and my mother, I was free to do so without being approached ass-kisers.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

I was suddenly broken from my thoughts when I heard the sound of laughing and also yelling.

"Get her! Get her! Get Her!"

"Get back here!"

I turn to the direction of the noise to see a group of angry looking boys chasing a young girl with blond hair wearing a light green dress, laughing mischievously while running away from her pursuers. Using the surrounding to her advantage, the girl managed to make the boys lose sight of her resulting in the boys splitting up to cover more ground. When a chubby boy with brown hair, who was among those looking for her, was close to her position she hid underneath a table that was next to me. He was checking underneath the tables one by one and when he was about to check the table next to me, that was when I decided to intervene.

"If you're looking for a blonde girl wearing a light green dress, she's not here."

He turned around around and looked at me with an snobbish expression. Everything about him screamed spoiled brat. "Where is she?" He arrogantly demanded.

Guess he doesn't know who I am or maybe he was just too angry to care.

I point to an exit.

"She went that way, she's most likely headed for the manor grounds, you should hurry or you'll never catch her."

Without a word, the boy ran around to gather the rest of his gang and headed to the exit I pointed to and their figures quickly diminished as they got farther away from me. I waited until I was certain they were no longer in the area before calling out to the girl hidden under the table.

"They're gone, you can come out now."

A hand came out from under the table and lifted the cover. The girl came out from the table, stood up, dusted off her light green dress and grinned at me.

Taking a closer look at her, I realized that the girl was none other than Milly Ashford or if I'm wrong, someone who looked a lot like a young Milly Ashford at least.

"Thanks for making them go away, my name is Millicent Ashford but I like Milly better! What's your name?" She asked cheerfully.

Millicent? Milly wasn't her actual name? Some fanfics I read in my previous life did use the name Millicent but the anime and other official works gave no indication that Milly was a shortened form of Millicent or some other name, but then again, considering my own existence in this world, I guess this could be called a minor ripple? Or now that I think about it, maybe I was in a very similar but alternate universe to the anime?

"My name is Zechstein el Britannia but I prefer to be called Zechs." I answered.

I revealed my name and therefore my status to her. I wonder how she'll react?

Her eyes widened and then...

"Pfffffffffhahahahahahahahaha! What sort of name is Zechstein?"

I give her a deadpan look. "Which is why I prefer to be called Zechs...Millicent" I commented dryly.

I know Zechstein is a strange name which isn't helped by the fact that Zechstein means mine stone or tough stone in german, but does she really have to laugh? It was a good thing no guests were close to our location or else things would have become potentially troublesome.

...Wait...she's laughing at me? Even after after I revealed my surname?

She gave me a glare...a rather adorable glare might I add. "I told you I like Milly better!" she huffed.

"Indeed you did." I responded cooly.

We stared at each for a bit before Milly decided to speak up.

"So why did you help me?" Milly asked.

I smiled. "What can I say? I just couldn't let a bunch of obvious bullies gang up on someone, especially someone like you. It would been awful if a cute adorable girl like you got caught by the likes of them, their obvious lack of basic courtesy and manners along with their anger would mean you wouldn't be treated well at all if caught."

Milly glanced away from me, her cheeks turning a light pink. "Y-You-You're right, it would have been awful if a cute adorable girl like myself got caught."

She stood silently and observed me before speaking up.

"You know Zechs, you're really weird."

Out of all things she could have said, this was not something I expected. While my facial expression didn't change, I couldn't help but inwardly snort at her words. While I'm fully aware that I definitely couldn't be considered normal, she wasn't exactly a shining example of normalcy either.

"How so?" I inquired half-rhetorically.

"Even though you're a prince you're not mean, selfish or completely full of yourself. You're nothing like how I imagined a member of royalty would be." She answered.

I couldn't help but give a light chuckle at her words. "You're quite unusual yourself, a normal girl wouldn't laugh while running away from a group of angry boys after what I presume to be a trick or a prank and a normal girl definitely wouldn't laugh at my name when I reveal my surname."

Milly's face scrunched into a cute frown. "Hey! I just like having fun!" She argued indignantly. "And you have to admit, Zechstein is a pretty weird name. I couldn't help _but_ laugh."

It took great effort not to roll my eyes. "You shouldn't assume everyone else's idea of fun is the same as yours and it's rather bold of you to laugh at a prince; you technically committed lèse-majesté." I retorted.

"That's the problem! Other kids and especially the adults clearly do not know how to have fun, as a member of the Ashford family it is my duty to show people the true meaning of fun!" The young Ashford passionately declared.

"And the lèse-majesté?" I questioned, unfazed by her outburst.

"Oh, I knew at first glance that you were a good guy, so everything's fine." Milly beamed, she then sighed. "It's really sad. Even though you're a nice guy, I can tell you're a serious type of person; one who clearly doesn't know how to truly relax and have fun." She said with a faux forlorn expression, which in a split second is replaced by a playful expression, "And so, I've decided to become your friend and teach you what amusement and entertainment is all about. Prepare yourself!"

"I'll gladly be friends with you but-".

"No buts! And that's final!" Milly exclaimed. "Oh, We're going to have so much fun together! We'll play pranks, tricks, go to festivals and parties and- " Milly giddily listed every activities she could think of.

I was too busy feeling conflicting emotions to listen to her; happiness that I made friends with a free-spirited, fun-loving girl like Milly Ashford along with fear and dread for the future involving me being dragged into the pranks and other random, bizarre, and/or outlandish shenanigans of Milly Ashford. If you combined that with the exhaustion of Darlton's training my lifespan will most likely if not inevitably shorten.

Later that day Milly dragged and introduced me to her parents and joyfully announced that we became friends, the looks on both her parents faces was priceless; I didn't know jaws could drop that low. I met and greeted Milly's parents, they seemed nice and friendly enough, although the calculating gleam in their eyes, especially Mrs. Ashford's was rather unsettling, I really hoped they weren't planning what I think they're planning...Oh who am I kidding, at the very least they must be thinking about it. No matter, I'll deal with it some other time.

After some conversations, we exchanged farewells and Milly and I arranged for a time to spend together. As I made my way back to mother and Schneizel I thought about my meeting with the Ashfords. Meeting and befriending Milly was quite an unexpected piece of fortune for me, forging ties with the Ashford family would mean that my eventual acquisition of the Ashford foundation would go more smoothly and I'll have an ally in the future Area 11. Not only that I can use the connection to freely get involved with Ashford Academy where I can keep tabs on C.C., Lelouch, Nunnally, and Suzaku. Aside from that, Milly is someone who despite her love of gossip and chaotic festivals, knows how to keep a secret and deeply cares for her friends, an invaluable trait. I look forward to getting to know her better. Things will never be boring with her around...for better or worse.

 _ **Late June 2009 a.t.b**_

I swear, nobles and royals throw parties for nearly any reason. This time it was to celebrate the official start of summer and with my mother attending, I had to escort her. As soon as the customary greetings were over, I was more eager than usual to avoid interacting with the guests since I was still sore from Darlton's training the other day. However, in my eagerness to get away from the nobles along with a dash of paranoia that someone may have been following me, I made a sudden sharp turn to a corner of a hallway and-

"Ooph!"

"ugh" I grunted. I felt someone bumping into me.

"sniff, sniff, uuuu"

The person I bumped into was a little girl with light pink hair wearing a formal red and pink dress...who happened to be crying.

I kneeled next to her, "I'm sorry, are you okay?" I asked gently.

The little girl looked at me teary eyed and slowly nodded.

I smiled. "That's good to hear." Looking more closely at her, I realized, to my surprise, that she was none other than-

"Anyaaaaaa!"

Looking at the direction where the voice came from, I saw a young girl wearing a dark purple dress with a hostile expression charging at my location with a startling speed that I didn't know was possible for a young girl wearing a formal dress. I immediately stood up and braced myself for impact. Now normally, I would have been able to dodge even if she was unexpectedly fast but alas Darlton's harsh training has left me rather tired and sore and so I had to make do with what little time I had left until the girl arrived. However, the expected collision did not come.

"Anya!" She helped Anya to her feet checked Anya over from head to feet. "Are you okay!? Did he hurt you!?"

Instead of a violent ordeal I expected, she was frantically checking over a young Anya Alstreim to make sure she was okay. I took this opportunity to observe the unknown girl. Her hair was pink with a purple hue and tied that is styled into twintails with dark purple ribbons and her eyes is reddish-pink, the same as Anya's. Her appearance resembled that of a young Haman Karn.

Who is she? What is her relation to Anya? These are the two biggest questions in my mind.

I was about to speak up when not-Haman glared murderous daggers at me. She pointed her index finger towards me, "You! What happened to Anya! If you're responsible for making my little sister fall and cry, I won't forgive you even if you're part of royalty!"

Sister? I can honestly say that I did not see that coming. I should assuage her anger first and then get more information.

"It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going and I ended up into bumping into your sister and for that I apologize."

Anya pulled on her sister's dress, causing the older girl to turn her head to face her sister.

"It was just an accident and he apologized, so please, don't get angry." Anya pleaded with the dreaded puppy dog eyes further enhanced by her face wet with tears from earlier. Its power and impact was no less equal to that of Euphemia's or Nunnally's, which is quite a feat in itself.

Not-Haman's cheeks became pink and she looked away. "F-Fine, since an apology was issued, I suppose I can forgive this transgression."

It seems that like so many others, she had no way to defend against deadly power of the puppy dog eyes, especially since it was coming from her own sister.

"I am most grateful." I paused for a bit before continuing. "Why don't we take this opportunity to properly introduce ourselves? I am Zechstein el Britannia but you can call me Zechs, in fact, I would prefer it."

Anya widened her eyes and adopted an adorably nervous expression while her older sister was unusually calm.

"You're not what I expected from a member of the royal family." She replied simply.

I couldn't help but smile. "And your reaction is also quite unexpected but I don't dislike it at all. May I have the pleasure of learning your name?"

"Aila! Anya! There you are!" Just as Not-Haman was about to speak, a female voice interrupted.

I turned my attention to the source of the voice and my heart skipped a beat, a gorgeous young lady was approaching the three of us. She was a slender, well-endowed woman of average height dressed in an elegant green gown. She possessed deep pink hair kept in a ponytail with a half crown braid at the back of her head along with shoulder length side bangs framing her face and the same reddish-pink eyes as the two younger girls. Her hair reminded me of Lacus Clyne but I recall there was another gundam character that had a similar hairstyle, hmmm who was it again?

I glanced first to the lady walking towards us and then to not-Ham-err, I mean Aila, as I just learned. Then I realized, it was Marlene Karn, Haman's older sister.

When the unknown woman arrived she stood next to Aila, it was almost like the volume 6 cover of the Gundam MSV-R Shin Matsunaga manga. Then this meant that Anya was Serrana Karn of Code Geass? I wonder if their father resembles Maharaja Karn?

"Anya, Aila, you two shouldn't run off on your own." The woman gently admonished.

The two girls looked down with a guilty expression, "I'm sorry." The two apologized at the same time.

She gave a gentle smile "As long as you two understand."

She then turned towards me and smiled, "Hello, I am Alma Alstreim, and these two are my younger sisters, Aila and Anya, what's your name?" She inquired in a kind tone.

"I am Zechstein el Britannia but please, call me Zechs." An ordinary person would have blushed and maybe stuttered but not me, constant lessons on etiquette and manners, paranoia, and interactions with Schneizel along with being forced to interact with the nobility has tempered and refined my ability to hide my emotions and intentions by leaps and bounds.

Alma smiled closed her eyes and gave a polite bow "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Zechs."

I explained what happened what took place between me and her younger sisters and I learned more about the Alstreims.

The Alstreim family were a prominent noble family who had access to the Imperial family. Their father is an accomplished admiral in the Royal Britannian Navy while their mother is a professor at the Imperial Colchester Institute, which I recall was where Jeremiah, Lloyd, Cecile, and Rakshata attended years before the beginning of R1. The eldest child, Alma age 18, is a talented seamstress who designed and tailored the outfits she and her siblings were currently wearing. The middle child, 12 year old Aila, is a prodigy who won every fencing competition she entered and planned on attending the military academy and become a knightmare pilot in the future. Finally, the third and youngest child, 5 year old Anya is the cute adorable child whom everyone dotes on and is scheduled to be sent to Aries Villa to be schooled in proper etiquette and manners, which Aila voiced her objections rather vocally.

"I see absolutely no reason why Anya has to be sent to Aries Villa. She can be taught proper etiquette and manners at our home."

"Aila, we've been over this before," Alma sighed. "Father and mother are too busy with their work while you and I have school and lessons."

"But what if the inhabitants bully Anya!? I won't be there to protect her!" Aila protested.

"You don't have to worry about that." I interjected. "My half-siblings, Nunnally and Lelouch, are not the type to bully, demean, or belittle others. In fact, I'm certain Anya and Nunnally will become great friends especially since they are of the same age."

Now that I think about it, why was Anya sent to Aries Villa? The majority of nobles viewed Marianne as nothing more than a brutish, commoner soldier who somehow seduced the Emperor and Marianne herself is a rebellious spirit who once rode a horse into the palace's great hall and broken into court over a denied audience and just last month, she used the Ganymede to chase away Gabriella, the mother of Clovis and Laila, and her entourage who was harassing Lelouch and Nunnally, she even pointed the Ganymede's rifle directly at Gabriella, all the while smiling like an angel. While amusing, such actions couldn't be considered proper etiquette and manners by any stretch of imagination, which made it all the more baffling that Anya would be sent to Aries Villa.

Unfortunately, my question would be left unanswered as I was eager to change the subject.

"I also plan on attending the military academy to become a Knightmare pilot in the future."

Aila looked strangely excited, "Then I challenge you to a duel!" She yelled.

Alma and Anya seemed confused by Aila's challenge.

"I'll have to refuse." I responded politely.

"What's wrong? Scared that you'll lose?" said, smirking.

"Aila" Alma said sternly.

However, before she could chide her younger sister, I spoke up. "For your information, the reason I refused is not because I fear the outcome but simply due to the fact the duel cannot take place currently. All current Knightmares are prototypes which only test pilots such as Empress Marianne are allowed to operate. For the duel to take place we would have to wait until Knightmares become mainstream in the military and we both attend the military academy."

An awkward silence ensued, to the point I could almost hear crickets chirping in the background.

"Th-Tha-That-That's what I meant!" Aila exclaimed with a flustered face.

"Your stuttering and face makes your statement rather dubious, which might I add enhances your cuteness even more." I grinned.

Aila's face became even redder and her body trembled.

"Pffffffffffffufufufufufufufuhahahahahahahahaha!"

Alma and Anya who were struggling to contain their laughter, reached their limit and their lively laughter echoed the hallway.

"A-Alma! Anya! Why are you two laughing!? Don't laugh!" Aila pouted unhappily.

Unfortunately for her, this seemed to make those two laugh even more. I couldn't help be moved by this, her pout was just too cute but I couldn't enjoy it for long as Aila marched towards me while glaring. "You! This is all your fault!" She yelled jabbing her finger in my face.

"It's poor form to blame others for your own words and actions and besides, Anya is happy." I gestured towards Anya. "It's far better for a cute adorable girl like her to be laughing compared to crying or being nervous, don't you agree?"

Aila, whose face was still somewhat red, folded her arms and humphed. "I'll at least admit you're right. Since you managed to make Anya happy and recognized how cute and adorable she is, I'll forgive you this time."

She really does love her younger sister, like how Cornelia loves Euphemia and Lelouch loves Nunnally. She grudgingly acknowledged my role in making Anya laugh and decided not to punish me, not that I did anything to warrant a punishment.

Aila then narrowed her eyes and continued, "But embarrass me again, I will make you pay, understood?" She warned in a low threatening voice.

I merely give my best friendly smile "Understood."

Eventually we exchanged goodbyes but not before agreeing to meet again at a later date, especially Aila. As I made my way back to my family, all I can feel is turmoil.

Damn it. What should I do? What am I supposed to do?

Should I let Marianne possess Anya or intervene so that she actually dies? While her death was a tempting option, that could create its own problems. How would it potentially affect the Emperor's actions? How would it affect C.C. and her relationship with Lelouch? Several other questions involving the plot raced through my mind but what troubled me the most was the impact it could have on the Alstreim family.

I recalled my meeting with the Alstreim sisters. Though I have only known them for a short time, they were a loving family whose company I enjoyed. Can I bring myself to tear them apart? Can I...condemn Anya, an innocent girl, to a life as a host body for that parasite, robbed of her free will?

The more I ask myself these questions, the more I felt my stomach churn. No matter which option I chose, someone was going to suffer.

Charles zi Britannia, Marianne vi Britannia, and V.V., these names alone fill me with contempt and homicidal rage.

Their presence is a blight upon this world, therefore... _they will be removed._

 **\- So, do you think I wrote a young Milly well? What do you think of Anya's older sisters? And yes, an OC sister for Anya is an idea from Change and Chaos by Red Prince of Ruin, I couldn't help it I just liked the idea too much. Of course there will be differences and I added another sibling based on Marlene Karn, Haman's older sister.**

 **\- Just like I've told gundam 09 and mentioned in my profile, don't ever expect quick and/or regular updates from me. I'm a slow writer who has a hard time writing 100 words for my fanfics in one day.**

 **\- Rate and Review!**


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